


After All

by TheSecretFandom



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, First Time, Smut, canon compliant until 2x12
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 00:44:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13559079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecretFandom/pseuds/TheSecretFandom
Summary: What happened after it faded to black? Betty has something important to tell Jughead, but will he forgive her if she tells him?





	After All

**Author's Note:**

> Canon compliant until the end of 2x12. Exploring what I think needs to happen with Betty and Jughead in order to restore their relationship. Please comment and enjoy!

All of the words she wanted to say, that she wished she would have said… she couldn't make them come. She missed his lips, his hands on her body. Jughead's hands moved quickly to unzip her dress, and Betty's hips involuntarily ground against his. She knew that they should stop, just talk to each other like they used to. 

He looked so worried when she pulled away, his hands still gripping her hips just above her ass. She didn't have the willpower to stop.

"I just... want you. I want all of you… tonight." She pulled open the top few buttons as she said this.

His lips were back on her in an instant, moving from her neck to the swell of her breasts. He pulled her closer. Hands pressed against her back. Betty felt his hands at the clasp of her bra, begging for it to be undone.

Betty reached back, her hands covering his as she undid the clasp.

As Jughead peeled her dress down, she was acutely aware that Jughead was still fully dressed. He was handsome in his blue button-up and suspenders. His beanie was discarded, leaving his hair in a fluffy mess on top of his head.

Without speaking, Betty pushed the suspenders off his shoulders and moved quickly to undo the rest of the buttons on his shirt. Jughead groaned a bit when Betty stepped off of him and let her dress fall to the floor. There was almost a magnetic pull as Jughead followed her. He was already undoing his belt as his lips found Betty's again.

Betty's hands were shaking as she found the button of his slacks. Jughead kicked his pants off and moved back to Betty's lips. He loved to touch the soft skin on her neck, and his lips trailed from her lips to her jaw and down to her chest where he sucked a hickey. Betty let out a shaky sigh when Jughead dropped his lips to cover her nipple, goosebumps rising on her skin.

"Betts… are you sure?" Betty hadn't even noticed when Jughead pulled away. "We don't have to, we can just-"

Betty didn't let him finish. She pressed her lips against his, more rough than she'd ever done before. "I meant what I said, Juggie. I want to. I'm just…I'm a little nervous."

"Oh, Betty…" A slight smile crept onto his face as his hand reached up to cup her cheeks. "I am too, but… you are so beautiful and-and I never want to hurt you ever again. We'll go slow, okay?"

Betty nodded and allowed Jughead to lay her down on the couch. She let his lips cover her naked body, teeth dragging across her skin. She gasped when Jughead hooked his thumbs under her thong. His lips dragged down her body to her belly button as he pushed the small piece of fabric down her long, smooth legs.

"Is this still okay?" Jughead mumbled against her skin. His hands gripped her thighs and his thumbs rubbed softly against the inside of her legs.

Betty couldn't speak, so she nodded with a slight hum of approval. "Mhm."

She'd only felt this way once before, months ago, just before Jughead had accepted his Serpent jacket. She thought that would be the moment that she lost her virginity, but something felt different now. It wasn't all about the lust and passion that followed their professions of love for each other. Now, they needed each other. More than anything, Betty needed Jughead and he needed her too. In the midst of the crazy lives they were living, the only constant joy in Betty's life was Jughead's face and voice and lips and…

Jughead was pushing his underwear down and Betty suddenly realized how real this was. She didn't know what she was supposed to do at this moment, or what to do. Her mind raced and despite her newfound confidence in the last six months, she couldn't help thinking that she would be inadequate.

"Juggie, I-"

His lips covered hers. "It's okay, Betty. It's gonna be great."

He always seemed to have a way of calming her down. She took a deep breath and nodded. Betty bit her lip as Jughead pushed a finger into her. Her back arched, head pressing against the lumpy couch pillow. Betty raked her fingers up his back and into his disheveled hair, which had grown longer since the last time they were together.

Jughead captured her lips once again when he pulled his fingers out of her. Betty let out a strained sigh when Jughead finally lined up and pressed his cock into her. Her legs moved to wrap around his waist as Jughead slowly thrust halfway in, forcing a moan to pass too loudly from her lips. She pulled his body flush against hers and bit his shoulder as Jughead started thrusting slowly. Betty pulled against him with her legs, making him move deeper inside of her.

"Fuck…" He groaned, and Jughead's head fell to his favorite spot between her shoulder and neck. He rocked into her, a thin sheen of sweat building between them. Jughead's hot breath on her chest made her want him even more, as if they could get any closer than they were at this exact moment.

Seconds passed like minutes as Jughead took her virginity. It wasn't just that it felt amazing, it was who she was with that made it great. It was so different from what she'd imagined… she'd expected the first time to hurt more, but it didn't. The stretch of Jughead moving inside her made her wonder why they hadn't done this sooner and made her pray they would do it again soon.

"Betts… can I..?" His thrusts were becoming slightly uneven. Betty knew he was close.

"Yes, Juggie. Let go."

Betty came before he did, unraveling beneath him. Jughead collapsed on top of her when he hit his orgasm and nuzzled his head against her neck. He pulled out of her slowly and rolled onto the couch, holding Betty close to his side. She rested her head on his shoulder while her fingers danced across his bare chest.

Betty was so, so tired… after all that had happened that day and the post-coital bliss she currently found herself in, who could blame her? She was just dozing off when Jughead sighed, his next words coming out in a whisper.

"I love you."

Betty's heart raced just the same as it did the first time he said those words. She just knew that he meant it now just as much as he did then. She wasn't sure what was keeping her from saying it back right away. Maybe because of what she knew she had to say afterward.

"I love you too, Juggie." She disentangled herself from his embrace and sat up, though Jughead's arms remained firmly around her waist. "There's something I have to tell you."

"What?" He mumbled sleepily, his lips kissed over her hip.

She almost didn't tell him. He just looked so cute cuddling up next to her, and all she wanted to do was curl into his embrace for the rest of her life. This was something she had to do, though. Things would only get worse if she didn't.

"I think maybe you will want to stay awake for this." Now she was stalling.

Jughead pushed back against the couch and opened his eyes, staring up at Betty. "I'm listening, Betts."

She took a deep breath."You know how you told me about… you and Toni?"

Jughead's brow furrowed.

"I really appreciated you telling the truth… but I'm afraid I wasn't totally honest with you."

Jughead sat up now, his eyes fixating on Betty. She could see the anger bubbling up behind his hardened exterior.

"I did kiss someone, once. It was quick and I regretted it right away and I know I should have told you sooner but I was scared you'd hate me for it." The words tumbled forth almost faster than her muddled brain could comprehend. Jughead was silent for a long time. "Juggie?"

"Who?"

"What?" Betty grabbed his hands, rubbing her thumbs over the back of his hands.

"Who did you kiss?"

Fuck. She knew he would ask this question… and if it had been anyone else it may not have been so bad.

"It was… Archie."

Jughead yanked his hands back so quickly that Betty flinched at the movement.

"You lied to me?"

"I'm so sorry, Jug." Tears were stinging her eyes again. She had just gotten Jughead back, and she didn't want to lose him again. "You have to believe that it didn't mean anything."

"You should probably go home." Jughead spoke quietly. He grabbed his boxers from the floor and pulled them on.

"Juggie, let's just talk about this."

"My dad could come at any time now… it's probably best he doesn't find us here like this."

Jughead's eyes were sad as he grabbed Betty's clothes from the floor and handed them to her. Betty watched solemnly as Jughead shuffled toward the bathroom, not looking back.

"Jug?" He stopped. "See you at school?"

"Yeah… I guess." And with that, he shut the bathroom door behind him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Betty didn't see Jughead until lunch the next day, where he sat across the cafeteria with the other Serpents. She sat down next to Kevin at their usual table, but she could help but watch as Jughead talked to Toni, Sweet Pea, and Fangs.

"What's up with you today?" Kevin prodded. He took a bite of his salad, the crunch giving Betty a headache for some reason. "You're staring at Jughead in a different way today."

"I'm not staring at Jughead."

"You've stared at Jughead across the cafeteria ever since he came back to Riverdale High, it's just different today." Crunch, crunch, crunch. "You used to look angry at him, but now you have this look of regret… what happened with him?"

"If I tell you, Kev, you have to promise now to say anything to anyone."

"What else is a best friend for? Your secret is my secret."

"Well, Jughead and I kind of… got back together last night."

"Isn't that good news?"

"What I mean is that we got together last night… on the couch in the trailer."

"Who knew Jughead Jones had it in him?" Kevin dropped his fork on his tray and turned to fully face Betty. "So, you did it… but did you like, officially get back together?"

"I thought so, at first. We said 'I love you' again, but I just ruined it." Betty dropped her head in her hands. "I told him about Archie… the kiss."

"You mean you didn't tell him about that before you had sex?"

"Keep your voice down. I don't want the whole school knowing… and yes. I tried to, but I couldn't do it. Then he told me he loved me and I knew I couldn't hide that from him. If we're going to stand a chance, we have to start being honest with each other, you know?"

"I'm guessing he didn't take it so well." Kevin glanced over to the Serpent table, where Jughead was picking at his food. That wasn't a good sign.

"No… and he wouldn't talk about it last night."

"Betty, I don't know Jughead that well, but one thing I do know is that he loves you. Also, that he's always been self-conscious about your former crush on the red-headed Troy Bolton. It could really go either way, but I think he just needs some time, and maybe to understand. I'm sure he'll forgive you, especially after his… relationship with Toni."

"How do you always know the right thing to say?"

"I'm gay. I don't fit all of the stereotypes, but I am an expert at relationship advice."

Betty wrapped her arms around Kevin quickly. "Thanks, Kev."

The rest of the school day dragged on, and when she couldn't find Jughead in the student lounge after the final bell she knew there was only one place to find him. She asked Kevin to drop her off at Pop's since her mom was using the car today.

Jughead's bike was parked right out front of Pop's and she could see his head in the window at his usual booth. The opposite side of the booth was empty. Good, no Serpents.

She waved at FP and Pop Tate when she walked in. FP nodded his head toward Jughead, as if she didn't already know where he was. Betty slid into the booth without a word. Jughead typed out a few more words before closing his laptop and looking up at Betty.

"Can we talk now?" Betty said softly. These little heart to hearts at Pop's were getting kind of old. "I just want to explain, and then you can just get on with your life."

Jughead didn't speak, but he nodded his permission.

"Can we… go for walk?"

"Sure, Betty." He finally spoke and stood up. "I'll be back, Pop. Save my booth?"

Pop Tate glanced around the still fairly empty diner. Basketball and wrestling practice was still on, so the diner hadn't filled up yet. "Won't be a problem, Jughead."

Jughead nodded and stuffed his laptop into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Betty followed him closely out of the diner toward the railroad tracks.

"So… talk." Jughead said when they reached the empty railroad tracks. Jughead kept his stride short to match hers.

"I guess I'll just start at the beginning? There's not much to say but… it was the day of the Black Hood. We just found out that my grandfather had something to do with killing the guy who supposedly committed the first murder, all those years ago. We were so close to figuring it out and we were both scared and…" Betty was rattling on again and took a deep breath to calm down.

"Okay." Jughead said simply.

"I'm not done." She took another breath and prepared to finish the horrible story. "I guess at the time I was sort of wondering 'what if' and it just sort of happened. I regretted it as soon as it happened. You have to believe how sorry I am, Jughead… and not only for what happened but for not telling you sooner."

"It's okay, Betty." Jughead stopped walking and turned to face her. "I was thinking about this a lot today. I even talked to Archie about it. I get it. You had a crush on him for a long time, so it's only natural that you'd be curious. I mean, I didn't do anything less than that with Toni… and I was ashamed for not telling you about that right away."

"But you told me when I asked, and I didn’t do the same."

"It's okay. Just… please tell me it wasn't good."

Betty laughed at that and took a step closer to him. Her hands stopped at his waist. "Jughead, I don't want to kiss anyone other than you for the rest of my life. I love you, so much."

Jughead's hands fluttered up to her face, their favorite place to be. His thumbs tickled her cheeks as he leaned into her. Betty's reached on her tiptoes to meet his lips. He kissed her fervently, and this time she knew… they could get through anything as long as they were together.

She so badly wished they could go back to the trailer before FP got done with his shift at Pop's but it would be suspicious if they never returned. Reluctantly, Jughead pulled away.

"I love you so much, too." Jughead slipped his hand into hers. "From now on, we tell each other everything. No more secrets, no more lies."

Betty nodded. She knew she was smiling like an idiot, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't been so happy in a long time.

"Can I buy you a milkshake?" He said.

"On one condition…" Betty started pulling him back to the diner. Jughead raised an eyebrow at her. "Come to my house tonight."

"What about your parents?" Jughead said this, even though they both knew that he wouldn't deny her.

"My dad move out again and my mom and Chic… they're pretty busy. They won't be home."

"I can't say no to that."

They finally reached the diner again and Jughead pulled the door open for her. "Your milkshake awaits."

Betty grinned. She stood on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips before going inside. Yeah, they'd be alright after all.


End file.
